Organisation

Parliament and the Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union, the EU’s other legislative body, is made up of ministers from the Member States. The Council presidency, which is held by each Member State in turn for a six-month period, takes part in plenary debates.

At the start of each presidency, the President of the Council of the European Union debates his/her programme with MEPs in plenary and returns to give a final report at the end of the six-month presidency.

EU heads of state and government meet at least four times a year in the European Council to set the general political guidelines for the Union. After each Summit the President of the European Council reports back to Parliament.